Personal Chef To Go's Official Blog

May 2014

05/28/2014

It’s been a hectic morning. As you wend your way back to the office, you realize you’ve forgotten your Personal Chef To Go salad. You hit the nearest drive-thru or eatery and, naturally, choose the healthiest option- a salad.

Oh Salad, how did it ever come to this? Experts say that eating a salad every day may be one of the healthiest eating habits to adopt, but did they know what kind of beasts are being created in the name of the salad? It’s fascinating how language shapes our perceptions. It would seem anything called a “salad,” regardless of its reckless ingredients, is still a healthy choice! Restaurant menu-development teams are definitely on to this phenomenon.

So, what are the problems with this collection of shocking salads found on the menus of our nation’s most popular restaurants? The biggest gripe is the sky-high calories, simply for their shock value–followed by the seriously exuberant sodium levels, and finishing up with some pretty surprising fat counts.

In the new set of Dietary Guidelines proposed for the 2010 USDA Food Pyramid, the average recommended daily calorie intake is 2100, and total fat intake should be 20 to 35 percent of your total daily calories. (At 9 calories per gram of fat, 30 percent would roughly equal about 70 grams of total fat daily for a 2100-calorie diet.) The crazy thing here is sodium: The new guidelines reduced the recommended amount of salt healthy people should consume to 1,500 milligrams (mg), from the previous amount of 2,300 mg. Each one of these salads has more than the daily recommended level of sodium and some have more than double that. Salty!

Even so, aside from all the ills of these non-salad salads, we’ll still opt for the salad more than not. Even though most of those listed here have similar calorie counts to a burger and fries (or two), the saturated fat is generally less, and you do get the benefit of the vegetables. Just remember that any of these salads should be your big meal of the day, and forget about eating another grain of salt until tomorrow (or the day after).

11. Burger King Tendercrisp Garden Salad You have to love the adjectives they come up with, like “tendercrisp!” What exactly does that mean? If it’s the chicken they’re referring to, what that means is “Fried Whole Muscle Breast” as described in the ingredients list. Besides, “tendercrisp” sounds more appealing than “fried whole muscle breast.” Add to that lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, and not one, not two, but three kinds of cheese–and you’ve got one-third of your calories for the day, over half of your fat allowance, and whoopsie, you’re 17 percent over your sodium level.

Calories: 670 Total Fat (g): 45 Sat Fat (g): 9 Sodium (mg): 1740

10. Wendy’s Chicken BLT Salad with Homestyle Chicken FilletYou could eat a regular BLT sandwich for around 400 calories, or you can eat this BLT salad fordouble the calories. Wendy’s boasts that “bacon, lettuce and tomato never had it so good”–that is, if bacon, lettuce, and tomato enjoy the company of chicken chunks, cheddar cheese, garlic croutons and honey-dijon dressing. It seems to kind of take away from the simplicity, and relative healthiness, that is the BLT.

8. Taco Bell Chipotle Steak Taco SaladIt feels cheating to actually call this a salad. If you look at the ingredients, it’s realy a burrito, with the additional calories of the “crispy” (hello fried) bowl. In fact, the big Taco Bell “Beefy 5-Layer Burrito” has 350 calories less! Oh! But this comes with reduced-fat sour cream. Phew!

Calories: 900

Total Fat (g): 57

Sat Fat (g): 11 Sodium (mg): 1700

7. Baja Fresh Mango Chipotle Chicken SaladWith “mango” and “salad” in the name of this item it sounds innocent enough–must be something about the tortilla shell, chicken, avocado, cheese and glaze that boosts this baby to the same calorie level you’d reach with four chicken soft tacos.

Calories: 930

Total Fat (g): 52 Sat Fat (g): 9 Sodium (mg): 1960

6. El Pollo Loco Chicken Tostada Salad Can you guess which item on the entire El Pollo Loco menu has the second-highest calorie count? If you said the chicken tostada salad, gold star for you. We suppose the iceberg lettuce qualifies this as a salad? But the chopped chicken, tostada shell, pinto beans, Spanish rice, pico de gallo salsa, sour cream, and jack/cheddar cheese seem to kind of bump it out of the salad category. Oh, and the 62 grams of fat. Salad? Really?

Calories: 1030Total Fat (g): 62 Sodium (mg): 1570

5. Ruby Tuesday Carolina Chicken Salad Well at least there are garden greens and tomatoes in this one. But what with the fried chicken, almonds, diced tomatoes, shredded cheddar, bacon, and croutons, it’s probably not very “salad-y”. And the nearly two-days’ worth of sodium just can’t be good.

Calories: 1157 Total Fat (g): 70 Sodium (mg): 2891

4. Applebee’s Santa Fe Chicken Salad Applebee’s describes this little diddy as “Real festive. Real good.” They forgot to add “Real fattening. Real salty.” The ironic part is that you could order their Chicken Fried Steak which comes with potatos, gravy and vegetable for 10 less calories. And notice that sodium? That’s the recommended limit for three days.

Calories: 1300 Total Fat (g): 94 Sat Fat (g): 25 Sodium (mg): 3540

3. Chili’s Quesadilla Explosion SaladWhen you think of an explosion, doesn’t your instinct say, “run away"? ” Instinct would serve you correctly here. The danger here isn’t in the salad, per se, which is comprised of grilled chicken with cheese, corn relish, cilantro, tortillas strips and citrus-balsamic dressing–it’s that in addition to the cheese quesadillas served with the salad that should have you running for cover.

Calories: 1400 Total Fat (g): 88 Sat Fat (g): 26 Sodium (mg): 2360

2. Outback Steakhouse Queensland SaladSo you go to a steakhouse and decide to eat healthily, you order the salad with chicken, right? Hahahahaha! Somehow this salad of chicken with mixed greens, cheese, bacon, diced egg, tomatoes, toasted almonds and croutons manages to rack up more than two-thirds of your daily calorie needs, is over 30 percent more of your fat limit, and maxes out your sodium intake for the day. Maybe just order the steak?!

Calories: 1451 Total Fat (g): 117 Sat Fat (g): 30 Sodium (mg): 1477

1. California Pizza Kitchen Waldorf Chicken SaladWaldorf chicken salad…doesn’t sound too bad for a healthy choice at a pizza and pasta joint. But somehow, field greens, grilled chicken breast, grapes, apples, candied walnuts, celery and Gorgonzola cheese have become the sinister sister of the salad world. A word to the wise here, the CPK Garlic Cream Fettucine with Chicken has almost 200 calories less, and believe it or not, the Cheeseburger Pizza and the Meat Cravers’ Pizza both have less calories! With salads like that, who needs pizza?

05/26/2014

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05/21/2014

There’s no getting around the fact that if you have a healthy lifestyle or are working to lose weight safely and permanently, you need to eat healthy food and get plenty of exercise.

Exercising burns calories and builds muscle, which is essential for increasing your metabolism so that you can burn even more calories and lose more weight.

So by dusting off those workout clothes and picking just one of these nine great activities for weight loss you can get started today on your path to a slimmer, healthier you.

1. Walking

Walking is an ideal exercise for weight loss: It doesn’t require any equipment, other than a decent pair of walking shoes, and you don’t need a gym membership to do it. It’s a low-impact exercise, which means it won’t blow out your knees or cause other stress injuries that can leave you on the sidelines for weeks or even months.

For those with certain health issues, including obesity and heart disease, walking is an effective, low-intensity weight-loss activity that can lead to better overall health, as well as better mental wellbeing.

Depending on how much you weigh, walking at a pace of four miles per hour will burn between 5 and 8 calories every minute, or between 225 and 360 calories for a 45-minute walk. At this pace, walking 45 minutes a day most days, you can lose up to a pound a week without changing any other habits.

2. Kettlebell

Kettlebells are cast iron balls fitted with a single handle. Unlike traditional handheld weights, the weight of the kettlebell isn’t evenly distributed, which means that your body has to work to stabilize you and counterbalance the weight of the ball.

Kettlebells provide for a hard-core workout that not only burns up to 400 calories in a mere 20 minutes, but also strengthens your core, improves balance and posture and targets all of the major muscle groups, as well as the stabilizing muscles.

Because kettlebell exercises involve the whole body, a kettlebell workout will rev up your metabolism to help your body burn fat faster, and it’ll get your heart pumping so that you get an aerobic workout as well. In fact, 20-minute kettlebell workout is similar to a six-mile run in terms of cardiovascular benefits and calories burned.

3. Swimming

Vigorous swimming can burn anywhere from 400 to 700 calories an hour. All types of swimming are effective for helping you shed pounds, from a front crawl to a breast stroke or even the dog paddle.

Swimming is a highly effective exercise for weight loss and toning. It’s one of the lowest-impact exercises out there, and it strengthens, tones and conditions your whole body.

It’s particularly ideal for women in their last trimester of pregnancy and individuals who battle with arthritis, obesity, and musculoskeletal conditions.

It’s also great for those who suffer from exercise-induced asthma, because the warm, moist air around the water helps keep the airways clear.

Many athletes use the pool as a cross-training tool, as well as to stay fit while rehabilitating an injury. When you’re neck-deep in water, your body is only bearing ten percent of its weight, and yet the water provides 12 times the resistance of air, making it ideal for strengthening and toning your muscles.

4. Cycling

Bicycling is another low-impact, high-rewards activity for losing weight.

Cycling can burn anywhere from 372 to over 1,100 calories per hour, depending on your weight, your speed and the terrain you’re biking across.

Unlike running, cycling is easy on the joints, and even the most out-of-shape beginner can hop on a bicycle and ride several miles without feeling like they’ve just been through the wringer.

Outdoor cycling is best, because the varied terrain enables you to get a well-rounded workout that includes strengthening your lower body and getting a good cardiovascular workout.

If you live within biking distance of your job, cycling to work can stimulate endorphins and boost your metabolism for the day, as well as save you money on gas.

If outdoor cycling is difficult or dangerous in your area, consider spinning.

Offered at most gyms, this group cycling activity is one of the lowest-impact classes offered, and yet it’s one of the most effective for burning calories and revving up your metabolism.

5. Elliptical Trainer

The elliptical trainer at home or at the gym enables you to get a low-impact, full body workout.

Easier on the joints than a treadmill, the elliptical trainer also has movable handles that enable you to get a good upper-body workout in addition to working your lower body.

Elliptical machines let you choose the intensity level, and by raising and lowering the ramp and going backwards, you can target different muscle groups in your legs, both front and back.

The average person using an elliptical trainer can burn about 600 calories per hour. The elliptical trainer mimics the action of running while eliminating impact, saving knees and other joints from wear. For those who suffer from arthritis, musculoskeletal conditions and obesity, the elliptical trainer is a great way to exercise without risking impact injuries.

When you’re using the elliptical trainer, hold on to the movable handles rather than the static ones to increase the number of calories you burn and to help tone your arms.

The only equipment running requires is a good pair of shoes to protect your joints and, if it helps you keep the pace and maintain motivation, an iPod with your favorite tunes.

Interval training can bump up the calories you burn on your daily run. Also called speed work, interval training involves short spurts, usually between 30 seconds and two minutes, of running at top speed.

Intervals burn a large number of calories in a short amount of time, improve your resting metabolism to help you burn more calories during the day, and increase your muscle mass.

7. Tennis

A good game of tennis can burn up to 600 calories in an hour.

If you’re the type who prefers to exercise with a partner, tennis is an ideal way to get active. It’s also perfect for those who don’t particularly like to exercise, but who love a good competition.

You don’t have to be a great tennis player to lose weight doing it. After all, running after the balls is still a form of exercise.

The nature of tennis makes it a great whole-body workout, and playing it can help you improve your flexibility, balance and posture, as well as let off some steam to reduce stress.

Throughout the game, especially every time you hit the ball, your arm, abdominal and leg muscles are engaged, building strength and burning calories. But that’s not all that’s engaged. Your brain gets a good workout every time you play tennis, from thinking quickly and creatively to planning ahead.

8. High intensity interval training

This is one of the most effective weight loss exercise options available.

You only need to engage in this form of exercise for about 20 minutes, three times a week, to get incredible benefits that include burning a large number of calories and ramping up your metabolism in the wake of the afterburn.

High intensity interval workouts can be done with many forms of exercise, and consist of short but intense bursts of activity followed by a lower-intensity period or a period of complete rest.

Those who are new to exercising shouldn’t perform interval training until they’ve been exercising regularly for a couple of months.

A standard interval workout for biking, swimming, running, lifting weights or even walking is 20 minutes long, but burns far more calories than 20 minutes of steady exercise.

Start out by warming up for five minutes. For the sixth minute, push yourself as hard and fast as you can. The seventh minute is all about catching your breath. Repeat the fast/slow cycle (minus the warm up) five times, and cool down for three minutes.

9. CrossFit

CrossFit, like high intensity training, is only suitable for individuals who have been exercising on a somewhat regular basis for a couple of months.

Originally designed to train first responders and Special Forces, CrossFit is a workout regimen that involves weight lifting, endurance exercises, plyometrics, strength and speed training and kettlebell exercise routines, among other activities.

One thing you won’t lose with CrossFit is interest. Unlike other routines that involve doing one exercise for a specified amount of time, CrossFit incorporates many activities into one intense, fat-burning workout.

It’s designed to target all of the major components of physical fitness, including endurance, flexibility, speed, power and cardiorespiratory fitness.

No two days are alike when you’re doing CrossFit. An example of a CrossFit routine is five repetitions of 20 pull-ups, 30 push-ups, 40 sit-ups and 50 squats, all performed one after the other, with a three-minute rest between repetitions.

While definitely not for the faint-of-heart, CrossFit routines are highly effective at burning calories and fat, improving physical stamina and endurance, and increasing metabolism.

More than 65 million Americans have the condition — caused by stress, aging, a poor diet, not enough exercise, obesity, smoking, or just plain genetics — and which can be managed in part by cutting back on sodium, according to the American Heart Association.

The recommended daily allowance of sodium is no more than 2,300 mg — about 1 teaspoon of table salt — which adds up fast. These switches — also good for those who want to maintain low blood pressure — can help you cut your salt intake without sacrificing flavor.

1. Say No to Pre-Packaged Frozen Dinners They’re quick and easy to prepare, but many frozen meals also pack a huge sodium punch — as much as 1,800 mg in one dish, according to MSNBC.com — and many of them don’t have enough vegetables to help you meet your daily requirements. For fast meals on busy nights, freeze leftovers or try make-ahead casseroles that go from freezer to oven to table with a minimum of effort (like Emeril’s Mexican Chicken Tortilla version) to make sure you’re getting the right nutrients.

3. Try Oil and Vinegar For Salads Salads, sandwiches, and stir-frys are often healthier than other dinner options, but you can inadvertently add too much sodium by pouring on ketchup, mustard, soy sauce, and salad dressings. Try simple olive oil and balsamic vinegar on your greens, use fresh tomatoes on your burger, and look for low-sodium versions of other condiments — or just make sure to watch your portions (one tablespoon of regular ketchup has a whopping 160-190 mg of sodium). Some companies do the work for you, though: This spring, according to the Huffington Post, Heinz announced that it tweaked its classic ketchup recipe to cut the sodium by 15 percent in response to new FDA salt limits.

4. Trade Canned Soup, Broth, and Vegetables For Homemade Canned goods are notoriously high in sodium — one serving can have as much as half your daily allowance — so you might be paying for the convenience. Soups and broths are easy enough to make yourself once you realize that they pretty much require two things — water and time — and you can flavor them with vegetables, herbs, and spices for low-cost meals that feed a crowd. Many companies also offer low-sodium or no-salt-added versions of popular soups, broths, and vegetables (but check the sodium levels on your frozen vegetables, too, especially if they come with seasonings or sauces: sodium often sneaks into those).

Try canning or freezing your own vegetables during the summer to eat all winter.

5. Avoid the BrinePickles, olives, sauerkraut, and just about any other vegetables that come in a brine may not feel unhealthy, but those brines were designed to preserve the food — which means there’s plenty of sodium floating around. Limit your indulgence in these foods, and try your hand at canning your own pickles from fresh cucumbers to be sure you know exactly how much salt you’re eating.

6. Cut Down on Cured MeatsBacon, ham, salami, and other cured meats are another sodium obstacle: According to the NIH DASH eating plan, 3 ounces of lean meat, fish, or poultry contains between 30 and 90 mg of sodium, while the same amount of roasted ham contains 1,020 mg. Eat cured meats sparingly and replace them with fresh chicken, pork, fish, or even no-salt-added canned tuna. Watch out for smoked and processed versions, too — they’ll also increase your sodium levels.

7. Reach for Unsalted Popcorn Over Salty Snacks It doesn’t take a dietitian to realize that salty snacks are higher in sodium than sweet ones — that’s something your tastebuds can probably tell you all by themselves. In a perfect world, you’d replace all those cravings for crackers, chips, and pretzels with fresh fruit slices and carrot sticks — but when you just can’t resist a snack attack, look for healthier versions, like no-salt popcorn, low-sodium crackers, or unsalted chips.

8. Substitute Whole Wheat Flour For White Flour Choosing whole wheat pasta, rice, bread, cereal, and snacks can help lower blood pressure in several ways: You’ll be skipping a lot of processed and salted foods by default (since many of them are made with white flour), and they can help you lose weight, which lowers your risk of developing many health conditions (including high blood pressure). Make oatmeal, rice, and pasta without adding salt to the cooking water, and you could end up with as little as 5 mg of sodium per serving.

9. Say No to ButtermilkButtermilk has more than twice as much sodium as a cup of its less-flavorful cousin, low-fat milk, which means you could be adding a lot more than just taste to those pancakes. Stick with regular milk and natural (not processed) cheese as part of a low-sodium diet, since they also contain blood-pressure-lowering potassium.

10. Stock Up on Dark Chocolate Okay, here’s one piece of good news: Dark chocolate doesn’t need to go on your list of foods to avoid, since some studies have shown that the flavanols it contains can help lower blood pressure by helping dilate blood vessels. As with any treat, you don’t want to eat too much of it — but in small amounts, it can have health benefits that go beyond a sugar rush.

05/07/2014

Mother’s Day is almost here. The day to celebrate the woman who brought you into the world or to celebrate the woman who gave you children. Or both. Flowers are a lovely gift (in those instances where the recipient gets what you actually ordered) but they’re not always an original or personal gift.

You can cook. Mom will appreciate a homemade meal from you, even if you’re not all that good at it. However, if you really don’t want to be in the kitchen or you live far away, packing a picnic lunch and taking mom to the park isn't always an option.

You can shop around for a Mother's Dinner. Many restaurants offer Mother’s Day specials. You can look for deals and coupons to take mom out on her special day but it only lasts a day.

You can find easy meal options. You can scour your mom’s neighborhood for restaurants offer take out. Collect the take-out menus and put them in a binder so mom has a fast and easy reference guide for those nights when cooking isn’t on the menu. You can even add gift card for one of the restaurants if you have the cash but many restaurants that offer take out meals aren't especially healthy and Mom has to drive to pick it up.

So, what if none of those options work for you or Mom? What’s for dinner? No problem. We've got you covered! Personal Chef To Go offers a better, healthier and easier alternative to cooking, discount dinners out and take out. Why not gift Mom an entire week of healthy, fresh and chef prepared meals delivered right to her door?

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